Kaitlyn Chen is a Carleton College Class of 2026 Biology alum with interests in biomedical research. Her research interests include cancer immunotherapy, allergy and immunology, and translational biology, especially questions about how immune-cell behavior can be understood well enough to inform treatment.

Previous research experience: I worked as a research assistant at Carleton and completed a research internship at INSERM in Paris. A realistic description of my lab experience would include maintaining cell cultures, carrying out immunology-related assays, reading primary literature to refine protocols, and analyzing experimental data across repeated runs. Working in another research environment abroad also taught me how much lab culture, communication, and documentation matter to reproducible science.

How I got started: I got started by talking with biology faculty about what undergraduate researchers actually do day to day and then applying broadly to summer opportunities once I had basic lab experience. The first project mattered less than learning how to be useful, careful, and consistent in a lab.

Open to being contacted: Maybe, ask me first

Preferred contact: LinkedIn

Advice/notes: biomedical research; cancer immunotherapy; immunology; wet-lab research; international research; summer internships; laboratory technique; applying to research programs; research careers after college

Links

Location

San Francisco

San Francisco, CA, USA